Garry's Fork Brace

[kpmhspirit]

Originally Posted by Peg

I assembled mine by holding the fork tube in a bench vice with a block of wood each side, and I modified the blocks of wood to securely hold my puller.

Thanks Peg. I figured you'd have an elegant solution.....

Originally Posted by gv550

Pete, I disassemble and reassemble the forks off the bike. Just slide the metal sleeve positioner clamp up the tube about an inch from the top and clamp it down, and use it to anchor your puller. I use a 3-jaw puller, more stable.
You will be moving that clamp anyway now that the sleeves are no longer used.

Duuh, My first thought would be that the clamp wouldn't be strong enough but since you've done it, I'll try it that way..

Thanks

Originally Posted by mike07nad

I had a friend helping me and we removed the caps and shock ends while they were on the bike. There is plenty of room to slide the shock in and out with out spilling any oil.
Also, since we could reach the left side (non kickstand side) triple tree easier, we did both shocks on same side of bike. - I did remove tank and lower the handle bars to access the triple tree with the Large Harbor freight puller.

Once we had the oil changed we resumed the install procedure from Garry's instructions.
One word of note: If you drop the handle bars and move any of the wires, hoses and such to the bottom of the triple tree - remember to move them back before you install the forks again. Let's just say we had to drop the front end with the tire on it to get the cables to the top of the tree. Not fun.

Good luck.

Thanks Mike. I used the smaller puller but even with that had to move the handle bars to get it in. I had planned on doing exactly what you describe (right side tt) to install the caps but I like Garry's idea too.

Originally Posted by redjay

When I remove the handlebars on any bike I use ratchet straps hung from the rafters in the garage. This keeps the bars off the tank and the brake and clutch fluid reservoirs upright, no chance of spillage.

Exactly what I do....Couple of strategically placed hooks in the car port roof work great.

Thanks for all the replies and good ideas guys. Made my job a lot more palatable now ...Just waiting for new retainers and o-rings.